Members, Customers Embrace Nontraditional Checking

The use of high balance and rewards checking are just a few of the accounts that credit unions and banks are seeing an increase in, according to Market Rates Insight.

The research firm said checking account types that require deeper and wider interaction and commitment to financial institutions have increased since the last recession in July 2009.

The greatest increase in the number of checking accounts offered occurred with the caps/rewards type of account, with usage up 3.8% since the end of the last recession. They tend to offer relatively higher interest rates and rewards for the use of linked debit or credit cards.

High-balance checking accounts now make up 18.6% of total accounts offered - up 3.5%. Senior accounts now make up 9.3%, which is up 1.3%, and asset management accounts at 8.1% are up 0.9%.

Considered to be the “work horse” transaction account at many financial institutions, MRI found that tiered interest checking experienced the largest decrease since the end of the last recession at 4.7% but they still make up the largest percentage of usage at 38.3%.

“The four types of checking accounts that have shown an increase have one thing in common --they are all designed to increase the relationship and contact surface with customers, which translates into greater fee revenue for the institution,” said Dan Geller, executive vice president at MRI in San Anselmo, Calif.